1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus for use in the cooking of meat using a broiler and, more particularly, to an apparatus for automatically controlling the cooking time so as to reduce the dependency on the personal supervision of the cook for the desired degree of cooking of the meat.
2. Description of the Related Art
Broiling as a way of preparing meat has become the standard when cooking certain kinds or cuts of meat, such as steak. In commercial restaurants, a broiler man or cook is in charge of a relatively large grill with a natural gas burner unit arranged beneath the grill. Typically, some sort of angled steel serving as a radiant is arranged over the burner to protect it from dripping fat or the like. The broiler man then places the meat on the grill and stands there and watches it as it cooks. The cook then is in charge of turning the meat and ultimately removing it when the desired degree of cooking has been achieved. Therefore, the degree of cooking is at the discretion of the cook.
It has been observed that when a person is in charge of a relatively large grill bearing a large number of steaks, all of which are being cooked to any one of several different selected degrees of cooking from rare to well-done, that frequently the broiler man is not able to properly administer to all of the steaks on the grill. This results in both wasted steak when they are served incorrectly cooked, as well as dissatisfied customers.
Although ovens and other cooking apparatus are known in which temperature probes are inserted into the meat being roasted or cooked, the broiler environment is so hostile as not to permit the use of temperature probes when trying to control the degree of cooking of steaks.